


breaking and mending

by theheartfalls



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M, Very AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-09
Updated: 2013-01-09
Packaged: 2017-11-24 06:01:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/631228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theheartfalls/pseuds/theheartfalls
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This was a prompt by my friend Oddny, and I can't say no to her. </p><p>AU in which Liam is a hockey player, Zayn is a nurse, Liam gets hurt, and Zayn's there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	breaking and mending

Liam likes to lose himself. 

Drop the world, forget his problems, space out and not feel or think. He likes to focus on his breathing, the movement of his body, and the stick in his hands. 

Hockey has been his escape since he could remember, throwing himself onto the ice anytime a problem arose that he couldn’t handle, just forgetting the world and channeling all of his energy into the things he can control; like a puck and where it’s headed. 

That didn’t change when he started playing in school. He continued to cling to it when he was scouted professionally and gave up on the idea of singing to play a sport instead. 

What started as an escape became his life and he was good. Maybe he had a bit of a big head about it, but years of avoiding his life actually gave him a true talent to fall back on and he was proud of it. He would find himself in the rink and he would disappear. The world would fade away around him and it would just be him, the puck, and the goal. The obstacles didn’t matter, the cheering crowd was mute, and he had one solitary objective… 

And he never lost.

He was blind to everything, but it had always worked for him. He never expected anything bad to come of it. He just didn’t let himself think about the other players. So when another body collided with his in the middle of a game, mere feet from the goal, he didn’t even see who it was.

All he felt was reality come slamming back into him as he was flung sideways and into the wall. 

He heard the sharp crack of something hitting glass and it took him a second to realize it was his own head. The throbbing started, someone screamed, and his vision went hazy. 

His last thought before the world went dark was that he couldn’t feel his left leg at all. 

~

Liam’s first thought upon waking is that he wanted to not feel his left leg anymore. 

A dull ache radiated from the back of his knee, down his calf, and all around the surround area. It took him only moments to register the pain and decide that no, please God, let that stop immediately.

He reached out for once, letting his mind roam around, eyes shut tight. Distantly, he can hear a beeping sound and voices murmuring somewhere far away. He let that distract him, let himself absorb that rather than the feeling pulsating through his leg.

Nearby he notices what sounds like a shower curtain being pushed aside and his eyes open instinctively, because it’s close. Flinching against the light, he took in the blurred outline of a person against an all-white backdrop.

When his mind catches up with the images, it all clicks into place.

He’s in a hospital. The beeping monitors, the scrubs on this strange man, the pain… 

The game comes rushing back, the attack by the other player, and he finally gets it. He was injured. Apparently severely. 

“Welcome back, Mr. Payne.” 

The speaker, a doctor it seems, judging by the white robes captures Liam’s attention now. The man is older, graying hair and soft eyes, as he looks down at Liam with a soft smile on his face. “How are you feeling?” he asks kindly enough.

“Death, honestly.” Liam croaked out, finally realizing how dry his throat is. “Who won the game?” 

There’s a chuckle in the corner and his eyes flicker to a nurse standing there, looking down at some files or something and avoiding Liam’s eye at all cost. 

“No worries, your team went on without you.” he said reassuringly and Liam actually did feel relieved. 

Maybe he needed to sort out his priorities, actually. 

“How much pain are you in, Liam?” the doctor asked now, moving the sheet that was draped over Liam’s lap to look at his leg. 

Letting his eyes travel down, Liam seems the cast plastered to his leg from mid thigh down. His entire leg, shattered…

He could feel his head spinning and he knows he’s starting to panic, but he can’t bring himself to breath properly for a moment because an injury like this is career ending. He’s seen it a million times. He knows what it’s like. He’ll be another washed up athlete with a messed up leg and the ghost of a nice record to float him through life. 

His entire future is flashing before his eyes and the doctor only wants to know if he’s in pain.

Well, yeah. That’s one thing to call it.

Soft fingers press into his shoulder and he looks over at the nurse, certain he’s all wide eyes and panic but not really in any state to help that at the moment. 

“One step at a time, alright?” the nurse says, his voice melodic and calm, trying to sooth. “First we’ll get rid of the pain and then you can freak out.” he added, the hint of a smile at the corners of his mouth. 

And Liam finds himself nodding along because deep brown eyes are staring into his and he wants to listen. 

He wants someone else to steer things right now, because he can’t. Not like this. Not when he’s not even sure he’ll have a life to steer.

“I’m Zayn, and I’m going to give you more painkillers right now, alright?” 

Again, Liam nods and then Zayn breaks eye contact, but he’s still close and his fingers are brushing Liam’s arm as he works over the IV there, and it’s the smallest, silliest reassurance he’s ever found in life.

But if he can’t play hockey, at least he can lose himself to this.


End file.
